Genma ga kutsushita guujin desu!
by ContraBardus
Summary: Ranma and Genma arrive at the Tendo dojo...but why does it seem there's something odd about Genma...
1. Default Chapter

Much as I'd like to take the blame for this...interesting work. I can't, this fic was the result of a discussion in the Delphi Fanfiction Forum's IRC chat. Many were involved in shaping this idea into what it is, too many for me to remember everyone I'm supposed to credit. ^_^;;   
  
Genma Ga Kutsushita Guujin Desu!  
  
Part 1  
  
Here's Ranma...and his little friend...  
  
+++++++++++++++++++  
  
It was a scene you're probably familiar with if you're reading this. A time and place you've read before, or possibly even watched. A short time after the hand written scrawl that had brought tears to Soun Tendo's eyes, and moments after he finally brought his three daughters together to inform them of the engagement to one boy. Ranma Saotome, student under Genma, and heir to the Saotome School of the Anything Goes Style of Martial Arts. Quite an impressive title really.  
  
The thing about this story that's different is...well... I'll let you see for yourself. It all starts with a noise in the hallway of the Tendo home.  
  
"Ooh! That must be Ranma!"  
  
"Saotome my old friend! I've been waiting!"  
  
Soun Tendo and his daughter Nabiki simply stared at the scene in front of them dumbly. Within moments, Akane and Kasumi Tendo happened upon a rather odd sight.  
  
A young girl appeared to be lying on the ground at their doorstep struggling with a small white object that seemed to be dragging her along the ground from just under her. They couldn't quite make out what it was and the girl took notice of them. "Hey! Yo! You're scarin em spitless!"  
  
"Daddy...what the hell is that?" said Nabiki as she stared at it.  
  
"I...don't know," muttered the man as he peered down at the thing dragging the girl. It had a somewhat dazed stare as it looked up at him.   
  
The girl jumped upright and frowned at him. She had her arms behind her back, and the small creature seemed to vanish. No one was quite sure what had happened.  
  
"You...wouldn't be...?" muttered Soun.  
  
"Ranma Saotome, sorry about this," muttered the girl as she turned her head away in embarrassment.  
  
"At last! You've come!" cried Soun as he grabbed her by her shoulders.   
  
"Oooh! He is cute!" cried Nabiki.  
  
Soun took the girl into a hug and paused, his eyes going down to behind her back for a moment. "Uhhh?" There was something on her arm...  
  
He pulled her away and blinked. "Um..excuse me, but is that a..."  
  
Nabiki shoved him aside and poked at the girl's breast for a moment. "He is a girl!"   
  
"Yes, but..." stammered Soun.  
  
The girl in question pulled her arm from behind her back revealing...a sock puppet. It was holding a sign up in its mouth. "Is something wrong Tendo?"  
  
The girls all stared at this and Soun passed out cold.  
  
+++++++++++++++  
  
"Oh! Poor daddy, he's so disappointed," said Kasumi as she tended to her father as he lay on the floor in the living room.  
  
"He's disappointed?!" cried Nabiki irritably. "Some fiancee this is!" she cried as she squeezed the girl's breast in order to illustrate her point.  
  
"Please. I wish you'd stop that," muttered the girl.  
  
"Stop that you two! He...she...is our guest!" cried Akane.  
  
The girl said nothing, but simply held her sock puppet aloft.  
  
"Will you put that stupid thing away?! It's giving me the creeps!" cried Nabiki as she looked at the girl for a moment.  
  
"Huh? What thing?" muttered the girl in confusion.  
  
Akane stood up and blinked. "Um...that thing on your arm?"  
  
Ranma stared at her as if she had grown a second head. She lifted her left arm and inspected it, ignoring the sock puppet on her other arm. "Is there something wrong with my arm?"  
  
"The other arm!" cried Nabiki.  
  
"Other arm?" said the girl dumbly.  
  
Akane, sensing the heat from the situation rising, quickly stepped in to halt the hostilities. "Um. Would you like to join me in the practice hall?"  
  
The girl looked at her and blinked again. "Um. Okay."  
  
++++++++++++++++++  
  
Akane walked into the practice hall and blinked as she turned to find the girl gone. "Huh? Where..."  
  
A moment later, Ranma walked into the room and looked around. "Nice place."  
  
The other girl sighed in relief as she noticed the puppet was now gone. "Thanks. You practice Kenpo?"  
  
"A little," said the girl nervously.  
  
"Well, let's have a little match then!" said Akane cheerfully as she moved into a stance.  
  
++++++++++++++++++  
  
Kasumi blinked as she opened the door to the bathroom. She had halted quite suddenly actually as she walked in and found a sock hung across the edge of the furo. Half of it was submerged, and the other half appeared to be resting with a cloth sitting across its forehead. There was a small tub of toiletries just outside the tub as well. "Perhaps I'll wait until later to clean up..." she muttered uncomfortably as she edged back out of the bathroom and into the home.  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++  
  
Ranma and Akane were laughing with each other.   
  
"Wow! You're pretty good!" said Akane cheerfully. "I'm just glad you're a girl."  
  
Ranma froze. "Huh?"  
  
"It's just that...I'd really hate to lose to a boy!" The girl turned and smiled at the newcomer.   
  
Ranma said nothing and watched her leave.  
  
+++++++++++++++  
  
A short time later, Soun Tendo sat with his head cocked sideways as he stared at it. The sock was resting on a pillow opposite him. He didn't say anything to it, but simply stared. He wasn't quite sure what to make of it at all.  
  
So, he simply sat and stared, contemplating the situation.  
  
++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
"Kasumi. Why is Daddy sitting with that creepy sock?" Nabiki stuck her head into the kitchen where her sister was preparing a meal.  
  
""Got me," was the simple reply. "It is rather disturbing though."  
  
++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
"Ranma!" said Kasumi sweetly as she found the girl. "Come on Ranma! Wouldn't you like a bath?"   
  
The redhead blinked as she found a towel shoved into her chest. She accepted it, not that she could have refused. "Huh? No! I mean...it's okay."  
  
"No it's not! You must be all sweaty from your workout!" said Kasumi as she ushered the girl towards the bathroom.  
  
++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
"AAAAAHHHHHHH! I'll kill him! I'll drown him in the bathtub!"  
  
Nabiki Tendo poked her head around the corner to find her sister holding half of a cement lawn ornament in her arms. "Akane? What is it? What's that for?"  
  
"There's a pervert in the bathroom!"   
  
"Why didn't you just kill him with your bare hands?" asked Nabiki.  
  
"Because I'm afraid!" snapped Akane.  
  
"That's odd. Ranma was just in the bath just now," muttered Kasumi with a little worry in her voice.   
  
A young boy appeared in the hall with a blush on his face.  
  
"Who are you?" asked Nabiki.  
  
"Um...I'm Ranma Saotome...sorry about this..." muttered the boy sheepishly.  
  
++++++++++++++++++  
  
"I'm not quite sure if I understand myself...this is..."  
  
The sock puppet on Ranma's hand moved its mouth as it spoke. Ranma's lips never moved. "Genma Saotome, and this is my son..."  
  
"Ranma," said the boy quietly.  
  
Everyone stared at him. Even Akane's angry glare faltered for a moment.  
  
"What?" said Nabiki as her eyelids drooped slightly.  
  
"Oh my!" cried Kasumi.  
  
"What's this all about?" asked Nabiki as she stared at the boy.  
  
"Are you really her? That same girl?" asked Kasumi.  
  
Her family turned to look at her for a moment and she glanced around at them.   
  
"What?"  
  
"Um, yes..." said Ranma quietly.  
  
"Hmmm. Where should I begin?" said the sock. "I know! I'll start with this!"  
  
Ranma picked himself up with his sock hand and tossed himself into the air.  
  
"What the?" muttered Akane in shock.  
  
The boy landed in the Koi pond, with the sock sticking up out of the water on the boy's only dry arm. After a moment, a female Ranma emerged from the water. "What the hell are you doing?!"  
  
Nabiki was impressed.  
  
"Now he's a girl?" stammered Kasumi.  
  
"This is getting weirder and weirder." Akane looked to be in somewhat of a shocked state.  
  
"Ooooh! My own son! How humiliating!" lamented the sock.  
  
Ranma actually kicked herself into the arm and dipped down to wet the sock. After she pulled her arm out, she paused for a moment and removed the wet sock, only to replace it with another sock with black marks on it that appeared to have been made by a magic marker.  
  
"Who are you to talk!? My old man's a panda!" cried Ranma.  
  
"Daddy? Why are you friends with...um...them? Him?" Kasumi looked like she wasn't quite sure how to phrase her question.  
  
The man turned to stare at her. "I...Saotome?" he stared at the sock dumbly. "What could have happened? I don't understand."  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++  
  
Ranma and his sock emerged from the bathroom slightly damp, but oddly enough, they both looked refreshed. No one was quite sure why the sock was refreshed, but it was.  
  
As the boy sat down, the sock started to speak again. "Ah yes. It was two fateful weeks ago..."  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
Mt. Quanjing, Bayankala range, Quinghai Province, China...  
  
"Here sir. Is legendary Training Ground of Cursed Spring,. Jusenkyo."  
  
"Are you prepared boy?" asked Ranma's sock puppet.  
  
"This place isn't so impressive," snorted the boy.  
  
"Yes..." agreed the Guide as he tried his best not to look at the scene. "Maybe you not go any closer. Mr. Customer is strange enough now. No?"  
  
"Ranma! Follow me!" cried the sock as the boy leapt into action and jumped over the springs.  
  
"Ah! Sir...never mind," said the Guide as he promptly sat down to smoke his pipe. He sighed and pulled out a book entitled "Planning for Early Retirement" and started to read as the strangest display he'd ever witnessed took place in front of him. The boy was fighting with a sock puppet, and actually seemed to be having trouble against it. He glanced up over his shoulder and called out halfheartedly. "Please sir! Very bad you fall in spring!" The teen ignored him and he sighed as he flipped another page. "Jusenkyo too too strange these day."  
  
The boy promptly kicked his own arm into the ground. He landed on a small patch of dirt between the springs, while his sock got slightly wet from one of the nearby spring.  
  
The boy stared at it for a moment and blinked. "Huh?"  
  
The guide sighed and rolled his eyes. "To hell with, might play along all right?" he muttered out loud. He then began to act very badly. "Oh no! Poor sir fall in Spring of Drowned Panda! Whoever fall in spring, take body of panda!"  
  
"Yeow! What?!" cried Ranma as he jumped back onto the poles.  
  
The guide sighed and continued to watch as the boy now appeared to actually be losing against the puppet. After a few moments, the sock basically head butt the boy in his chest and sent him into one of the springs. "Oh, too bad. You fall in Spring of Drowned Girl." As soon as the girl emerged he started his monologue about the curse of the spring.  
  
++++++++++++++++  
  
The wind chime blew in the wind as the Tendo household stared at the boy dumbly. Naturally, the sock's story was a tale quite different from the one you now know. Involving something along the lines of a desperate battle with his son, not realizing that he'd turned into a panda and catching the boy off guard by the transformation.  
  
"I was kinda hoping for a Spring of Drowned Sock Puppet," commented Nabiki as she glanced at her father. "Are you sure this is your old friend?"  
  
Soun shook his head from side to side slowly. "Where is Genma?"  
  
"I'm right here Tendo," said the sock calmly.  
  
"Saotome!? What...um...what happened to you? You look...different," he managed.  
  
The sock appeared to actually shrug. "I lost weight."  
  
Soun slowly nodded at this. "Yes. I can see that."  
  
"Hey. What's the idea of draggin me to a place like that anyway?" muttered Ranma as he grabbed the sock and made it face him.  
  
The sock gave a mighty cry and tossed it's...son...into the Koi once again, and once again managed to stay dry. After Ranma emerged it started speaking again. "You sound like a woman! Were you not prepared to give your life for the sake of your training?"  
  
Ranma growled. "My life yes..." She hefted a bucket of water at her own hand. "My manhood is another story!" She paused long enough to switch socks and started to fight with her own arm again.  
  
"Daddy. Make them go away!" cried Nabiki fearfully.  
  
Soun hung his head. "I...cannot. It is a matter of honor! This seems to be my old friend Genma's son, and even if he is a little odd, he is honor bound to one of you." He stood up and poured a kettle of hot water over the sock. Oddly enough the girl didn't change back. She did take the time to switch the socks on her arm though.  
  
"So, when doused with hot water you return to..."  
  
"..."  
  
"..."  
  
"... normal."  
  
"It needn't be quite that hot Tendo," gasped the sock puppet.  
  
"When doused with cold water, you become a girl, but hot water turns you back into a boy!" cried the man as he tried to douse Ranma with the kettle.   
  
"Hot water! Not boiling!"  
  
"You're problem isn't so terrible after all! My daughter Kasumi, nineteen, and Nabiki, seventeen, and Akane, sixteen! Pick the one you want, and she'll be your new fiancee!"  
  
Kasumi and Nabiki quickly reacted to this.   
  
"Oh! He want's Akane!"  
  
"Definitely!"  
  
"What? Why would I..." stammered the girl.  
  
"Well, you don't like boy's right?" asked Nabiki cheerfully.  
  
"You're in luck! He's half girl!" exclaimed Kasumi cheerfully.  
  
"He's out of his fucking mind!" cried Akane.  
  
"Huh?" said the redhead dumbly. "What ya mean?" She looked irritated by the comment.  
  
Akane backed away from her. "You talk to socks! Plus, you're a pervert!"  
  
Ranma jumped right to the second insult. "What do you mean 'pervert'?"  
  
"You looked at my body! Who knows what you were doing to that sock in the bathroom before I walked in!"  
  
"I didn't have a sock in the bathroom! What the hell are you on about?" said Ranma as she stared at her.   
  
"Well, I'm glad to see you've started a healthy relationship already!" said Soun cheerfully.  
  
"Quite so Tendo! They're the perfect couple already!" said the sock.  
  
Soun looked slightly disturbed by this and laughed along with the puppet nervously.  
  
:"Hey!" cried Ranma as she stared at her sock.  
  
"He's a couple by himself! In more than one way!" cried Akane. She returned her attention to the redhead once again. "And if you ever..."  
  
"Goodbye!" snapped Ranma as she started towards the door. She halted when her puppet started talking again. "Where are you going boy?"  
  
"Back to China! To find a way to change back for good! This is no time for fiancee's!"  
  
"I think that's a good idea actually," said Nabiki.   
  
"Oh my! Yes, it would be much easier if he didn't have...that problem," agreed Kasumi.  
  
Soun looked like he wasn't sure if he should be relieved or not.  
  
Of course, this is when the redhead decided to open her mouth again. "By the way..."  
  
+++++++++++++++  
  
Ranma woke up with a headache and glanced around the room.  
  
"Oh! She's awake!" exclaimed Kasumi cheerfully. "Are you okay? Don't think too badly of Akane. She's really a very sweet girl, she's just a violent maniac."  
  
"Yeah, we could have been rid of you by now if not for her stupid temper," muttered Nabiki quietly to herself.  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++  
  
Akane was seething in the bathroom, muttering to herself about the girl's comment. The memory flashed into her mind again. "And I'm better built to boot? The nerve of her! She's got no room to talk about being weird anyway! That psycho!"  
  
Ranma was on his way to meet her destiny once again. She strolled down the stairs rubbing at the back of her head. "Yeeeouch! What kind of girl is she anyway?" She continued as she undressed in the small dressing room just outside the furo. "Friends she says. So much for friends when she finds out I'm a boy..."  
  
The door opened, and Ranma found himself staring at her once again.  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++  
  
The sock puppet once again on the boy's arm, he looked out at the night sky with an irritated expression on his face.   
  
"So she's got spunk. That just makes a fiacee cuter." The sock actually looked somewhat smug saying this.  
  
"Cute is not the word," muttered Ranma.  
  
Nabiki was glaring at Akane. "That's twice your temper has forced us to keep him around. Just let him walk out the door for once will ya?"  
  
"Sorry," grumbled Akane as she hung her head. "I couldn't just let him get away with it ya know? Even if he is a crazy weirdo, that's not an excuse..."  
  
"Oh my," muttered Kasumi as she walked into the scene. Not sure of what else to say as Ranma and his sock watched her pass by, she simply wandered into the kitchen and started to clean.   
  
++++++++++++++++  
  
TBC?  
  
Depends on how well the next brainstorming session in chat goes. ^_^ 


	2. genma 2

The title of this means literally. "Genma is a sock puppet!" I'd  
have explained this sooner, but it would have ruined the surprise of  
the first part. ^_^  
  
The second part is very short. There is an explination on why at the end. Enjoy the insanity anyway though. ^_^  
  
Genma Ga Kutsushita Guujin Desu!  
  
Part 2  
  
Akane hates laundry!  
  
+++++++++++++++++  
  
Ranma Saotome was sitting by himself with his puppet looking at  
him. "School?"  
  
"Yes, we are going to be staying a while," said Genma as he  
nodded. Which was little more than Ranma moving his hand up and down,  
but why nit-pick?  
  
Nabiki poked her head around the corner and frowned at the boy.  
"Shit. He's still here..."  
  
"What?" muttered Akane irritably from behind her. "What's he  
doing?"  
  
"Talking too himself about going to school," grumbled Nabiki.  
  
"Oh no!" whispered Akane as she paled.  
  
"I know, we've got to stop this!" agreed Nabiki.  
  
"What do you mean you know? You're not engaged to him!"  
  
"Well you should have let him walk out last night!" said the older  
girl as she frowned at her sister.  
  
"Sorry," muttered Akane sheepishly.  
  
Nabiki walked across the open door as if she hadn't been listening  
too the conversation. "Hey Ranma, there's a high school nearby that  
might take you."  
  
The boy looked up at her and blinked. "Huh?"  
  
"It's in Juuban, not too far away. You can just take the train.  
They don't even have entrance exams!" The girl looked quite pleased  
with herself.  
  
"That's all right Nabiki. I took the liberty of enrolling my son  
at Furinkan. He'll be going with you."  
  
Akane burst around the corner. "What?!"  
  
"Well, it only makes sense, you are engaged after all," said Genma  
calmly.  
  
"We are not engaged!" chorused Ranma and Akane angrily.  
  
"How the hell did you manage to pull that off?" said Nabiki as she  
frowned at the sock.  
  
++++++++++++++++  
  
Vice Principal Dunbar blinked at the boy who had walked into his  
office with a sock puppet on his arm. "Can I help you?"  
  
"Yes, I'd like to enroll my son in school." The boy's lips never  
moved, in fact, he seemed like he was sleeping. A thin line of drool  
was dripping from the corner of his mouth.  
  
"Um. Son?" muttered the man.  
  
"Yes, his name is Ranma Saotome. These are his records," said the  
sock calmly as he pulled out a thick folder from the boy's shirt.  
  
"Um, yes," muttered the man dumbly.  
  
"Excuse me," said Genma as he stopped long enough to scratch his  
son's crotch. He then turned to look at the man again.  
  
"When will he be attending?" muttered the man. He wasn't quite  
sure what else to say.  
  
"He should start at the beginning of the week. We'll be staying  
with an old friend of mine. I believe his daughters attend here. His  
name is Soun Tendo."  
  
"Yes," said the man as he accepted the folder and stared at it for  
a minute.  
  
The boy and his sock left the room quietly while he sat there  
staring at the records.  
  
The man blinked several times and then turned to a small bottle of  
scotch that rested on the corner of his desk. He opened the drawer  
below it and slid it inside off of his desk. After that he hung his  
head and cried. "I hate my life."  
  
+++++++++++++++++++  
  
"Well, good luck Akane!" said Nabiki as she dashed away from the  
scene.  
  
"Wait! I'll go with you!" cried the younger girl desperately.  
  
"He's your fiancee, you take him," replied the girl as she quickly  
rounded the corner at a full sprint.  
  
+++++++++++++++  
  
Ranma walked behind Akane along the top of the fence. Neither  
looked particularly interested in each other as they walked along.  
  
"We're not getting married you know," growled the girl.  
  
"Tell me about it," was his reply.  
  
"So don't hang around me in school" snapped Akane.  
  
"Don't worry! I can't stand macho chicks like you!" retorted  
Ranma.  
  
Akane hefted her bag to throw it at him.  
  
Ranma promptly solved her problem by himself. His sock slammed  
into the back of his head, she hadn't even seen him put it on. "Pop!  
What the heck are you..."  
  
Genma interrupted. "You're in no position to be picky about women!  
Listen here boy, I'll tell you only once!"  
  
Ranma promptly swept his own feet out from under him and crashed  
into the canal.  
  
She grinned at the sock and switched it for the panda form sock.  
"What's wrong pop? Weren't you gonna say somethin?"  
  
The sock growled as the girl jumped back onto the sidewalk. The  
pair fought for a moment and Ranma landed in front of an old woman  
emptying out a bucket of water over her doorstep.  
  
The frail old woman looked up and blinked a she found herself face  
to face with a black and white object that stared at her dumbly.  
  
"GAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" She backed away with her hand over her heart  
and quickly rushed into her home.  
  
Ranma wasn't sure why, but she felt oddly satisfied by this event.  
She did stop to look down at herself and realized that she was  
currently female. "Crap."  
  
"You dope! What did you think would happen?" snapped Akane.  
  
"Humph. Pop must have splashed me when I had my guard down," said  
the redhead.  
  
Akane pulled at her hair in frustration.  
  
"I think I'll go take a bath," said Ranma as she turned back  
towards the way they had come from.  
  
"You'll be...lat..." Akane realized what she was saying and  
stopped. "Okay. I'll see you later then."  
  
Ranma frowned. "You're right, I'll be late. I don't want to start  
school as a girl though!"  
  
"Good point, just go home and take a bath. Isn't there a spring or  
something in China that will cure you?" asked the girl as she offered  
him a small frown.  
  
"All you need is hot water?" said a familiar voice from behind  
them.  
  
Akane felt the hairs on the back of her neck bristle suddenly. "Oh  
no! Please no!"  
  
"Huh?" Ranma turned around to find a friendly looking man in his  
late twenties smiling at her.  
  
"It's nice to meet you," said the man as he and the skeleton in  
his grasp bowed deeply. "If you need hot water for something, just  
come by my office. It's on the way."  
  
Ranma blinked and nodded. "Hey. Thanks."  
  
"Um, good morning, Dr. Tofu!" muttered Akane nervously.  
  
Genma in his panda form appeared behind Akane's head. "Boy! Quit  
stalling!"  
  
The girl backhanded the offending sock and it vanished from sight  
just as the doctor looked in that direction. "That's odd, I thought I  
saw something there..."  
  
"Huh? Oh, that's just my..."  
  
Akane quickly covered the girl's mouth. "It's nothing."  
  
The man blinked and started to walk towards his office with the  
pair.  
  
+++++++++++++++++  
  
After about a minute the trio arrived outside of the office. Tofu  
looked at Akane and smiled. "Why don't you just wait here. I'll take  
Ranma inside and get her that water."  
  
The girl blushed and didn't really want to say yes, but couldn't  
think of an excuse before the pair was gone.  
  
++++++++++++++++++  
  
Ten minutes went by and Akane frowned. "What's taking them so  
long?" She began to grow nervous and glanced towards the door.  
Finally, she sighed and walked inside.  
  
"Ranma? Dr. Tofu?" The office was empty.  
  
That was when she heard what sounded like Ranma crying. "What  
the?"  
  
She poked her head around the corner and found Tofu and Ranma  
sitting across from each other. Ranma was bawling his eyes out, and  
Tofu had a serious looking frown on his face.  
  
"And sometimes Pop touches me! You know! There!" cried the  
redhead.  
  
"This is awful!" muttered the doctor as he looked thoughtful.  
"Have you contacted the proper authorities?"  
  
"They just laugh at me!"  
  
"Hmmm. How does he touch you Ranma? Can you tell me about it?"  
  
Akane was white as a sheet.  
  
"Yeah. Sometimes I get an itch ya know. He just grabs me and  
scratches it with his mouth!"  
  
"His mouth?" muttered Tofu as his eyes widened.  
  
"Yeah. Pop likes to use is mouth," sputtered Ranma through her  
tears. "It feels weird!"  
  
"I imagine so, for someone as young as you," muttered the man as  
he nodded. "Very traumatizing. You must understand Ranma. What he's  
doing is wrong! This has to be dealt with, or he'll probably keep  
doing it too you. I can tell you don't like it, but..."  
  
Ranma nodded as she wiped the tears off of her face. "Yeah."  
  
Tofu frowned and stood up. "I think I've taken up enough of your  
time. We should talk later, perhaps after school? It would be best if  
we kept this from your father for now."  
  
The redhead nodded and accepted the cup of hot water from the man.  
She stood up and sniffled as she turned away and walked towards the  
door.  
  
+++++++++++++++++  
  
Akane was standing outside the office as pale as a ghost. She  
shivered at the thought of what she had heard. Maybe that was why  
Ranma was the way he was? Could it be? A deep pang of sympathy went  
out towards the boy as he emerged from the office as fresh as when  
he'd gone in. He seemed much more cheerful as he dumped the water over  
his head and changed. "Ah. That's better."  
  
"Maybe that's why he's all alone? Maybe that's why he hates to be  
a girl so much!" thought Akane in horror. "Could it be? Mr. Saotome is  
really a pervert!?"  
  
She followed after the boy in silence as he walked towards the  
school.  
  
As they grew nearer, she seemed to remember something. Her face  
grew hard and she charged forward at full sprint. Ranma kept up easily  
from behind her and stared rather dumbly at the scene. A large crowd  
of boys was waiting at the school gate. The girl in front of him  
dashed headlong into the mess and began to beat the living daylights  
out of anyone who stood in her way.  
  
"Um..."  
  
Nabiki Tendo gasped as she sat the boy sitting on the wall  
watching the scene. "No! He made it here?" She growled irritably and  
leaned out the window. "Ranma! Maybe you should go home, I think  
classes will be canceled because of injuries!"  
  
The boy looked up at her and blinked. "What's going on?" He failed  
to notice the weird looks everyone surrounding the girl were giving  
her from her perch in the window.  
  
Akane finished up her battle as the last of the male student's  
fell from her path. "Honestly! Every morning! You'd think they'd have  
learned by now!"  
  
"Truly such a boorish lot," said a definitely masculine voice from  
behind a nearby tree. "Evidently they each intend to take you out, on  
the dawn that they finally defeat you!"  
  
Akane caught a rose that was tossed to her and sighed. "Oh.  
Upperclassman, good morning!"  
  
The boy ignored her and smiled. "And now, might you spar with me?"  
He held a wooden sword out and pointed it at her.  
  
Ranma jumped down beside her and landed lightly. "Boy. You're  
popular aren't you?"  
  
"Who are you?" snapped Akane.  
  
"What? You brought me here remember?" said Ranma in confusion.  
  
"I don't want to be associated with you!" she growled under her  
breath. "Get lost."  
  
"Okay. Jeez," muttered the boy as he looked at the tall boy. The  
older student had taken notice of him.  
  
"Who are you boor? Aren't you being awfully familiar with Akane?"  
  
"Huh? Yeah. Kinda," said Ranma as he thought about it for a  
moment. "I'm..."  
  
"Ah! Is it not the custom to give one's own name first? Fine then,  
mine I shall give!" cried the boy loudly.  
  
"Man, what a loon," muttered Ranma.  
  
"Who are you to talk?" grumbled Akane sourly.  
  
"I am Tatewaki Kuno! Captain of the Kendo club, undefeated new  
star of the high school fencing world, the sound of my voice sends  
fear into the hearts of my peers! They call me, the Blue Thunder of  
Furinkan High!"  
  
Nabiki and her friends were very interested in this new  
development.  
  
"Blue Thunder?"  
  
"You heard that before?"  
  
"News to me," responded Nabiki calmly. She was thinking it might  
be kind of fun to watch Kuno pound the little weirdo.  
  
"Okay. Well I'm staying at the Tendo Dojo..."  
  
"What? Under the same roof as Akane? I shall not allow it!" cried  
Kuno as he slashed at the boy with his bokken.  
  
Ranma jumped into a flip and avoided the strike. He took off his  
bag as he went and landed in a combat stance. "I am Ranma Saotome, of  
the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts! I accept your challenge!"  
  
The pair collided in battle, Ranma clearly showing the superior  
skill. Finally, it all came down to a single blow. The sky overhead  
rumbled angrily as the gentle rain showered down on the two  
combatants. Ranma's fingers touched Kuno's forehead, and the Kendoist  
was slashing in a missed strike that passed by the boy's neck.  
  
The students gasped in awe as Ranma's feet hit the ground. He felt  
the rain touching his skin and the feeling of the change grew  
stronger.  
  
Quickly, he pulled Genma onto his arm and it lashed out, taking  
Kuno in the chest hard. A red and black blur shot towards the building  
and into a storage shed.  
  
The students were dumbfounded.  
  
"Was that a sock puppet?"  
  
"I dunno, but whatever it was, it was really good!"  
  
The boy who said that was promptly smacked by all surrounding him.  
  
"Ouch! Hey!"  
  
Akane merely stood in the rain, staring at the scene in a sort of  
shocked stupor. "I...my life is over!" She rushed after Ranma and his  
puppet, following them into the storage closet.  
  
"Damn! If it hadn't rained, I'd have nailed that moron with  
one..."  
  
"I wouldn't be so sure," said Akane as she opened the window and  
climbed inside the room with them.  
  
"Huh?" muttered Ranma dumbly. Genma was currently holding a kettle  
in his mouth, and was apparently in his panda form.  
  
"I mean your throat," replied Akane as she pointed at the bruise  
that had formed there.  
  
"Wow. He didn't even touch me!"  
  
"If he had, you'd be breathing through your neck now. A pretty  
even match don't you think?"  
  
"Oh, I don't know about that."  
  
Akane stared at the boy for a moment and realized that he was  
scratching himself with his sock puppet. She got a revolted look on  
her face and gasped.  
  
"Pop! You animal! In front of Akane no less! I told ya ta quit  
doin that ta me!"  
  
The girl blinked at this. "Huh?"  
  
"Well if I don't, you'll just have to itch then!" said Genma's  
sign.  
  
"Fine!" snapped Ranma angrily.  
  
Akane promptly fell off her perch in the window and onto the  
floor.  
  
+++++++++++++++++  
  
Kuno looked at the markings on his forehead with a small mirror  
and frowned. "Hmmm..."  
  
"And you don't remember him even touching you?" said Nabiki with  
her eyebrow arched a little.  
  
"Hmmm. I thought Ranma Saotome was good, but I shall never forget  
this offense of the sock puppet!" declared Kuno angrily.  
  
"He wrote that you're an idiot on your forehead and all you're  
worried about is that he hit you with a sock puppet?" said Nabiki as  
she frowned at the boy. "Boy, you really are an idiot."  
  
"You realize that I hate you," grumbled Kuno.  
  
"He spelled it wrong too," commented Nabiki.  
  
Kuno just sat there and pouted. "Ranma Saotome, I shall have my  
revenge!"  
  
+++++++++++++++++++  
  
TBC...  
  
I cut it off here, because I realized that the rest of the Kuno  
arc would be largely unchanged from this point on. Genma has no real  
impact on the story, or even an appearance after this. So, I shall  
move on and skip a bit. Next time We'll start up with Tofu and  
Kasumi's story, and then go on to Ryoga. I've got a special surprise  
in store for you with that one. The next chapter should be  
considerably larger as well. So, until then, read Gaijin or something.  
^_^ 


End file.
